Scammers Use Dead Doctors to Bilk Medicare

While a dead doctor isn't much use to a patient, it turns out they can be quite helpful to perpetrators of Medicare fraud.

From The Associated Press:

Sellers of wheelchairs, drugs, and other medical supplies collected as much as $93 million in fraudulent Medicare claims based on prescriptions from doctors who actually were dead, some for 10 years or more, a congressional investigation has found.

"Using the ID numbers of dead doctors, these scam artists have treated Medicare like an ATM machine, drawing money out of the government's account with little fear of getting caught," said Norm Coleman, a Republican senator from Minnesota, the AP reported.

What's more, it looks like the report could actually underestimate the scope of the problem.

From The Associated Press:

Coleman said the waste estimate would be much higher if investigators counted claims that involved all deceased doctors, not just those dead for at least 12 months. "It's time to close this $100 million loophole."